Trinity Sunday ~ Deacon Brendan Brides

Today is what is known in the Church as Trinity Sunday. The day that we recognize the mystery of the Trinity and for some preachers, a day to try to explain the existence of the Trinity. In light of such an enormous  challenge, I would digress to Saint Augustine when in one of his famous sermons he affirms that if we think we have understood the Trinity then what we have understood is not God at all. But what we do understand about the Trinity is that it contains, among others, God the Father. Our Gospel reading today, the famous John 3:16 reading, talks about the Father and how God the Father was prepared to endure the sacrifice of his only son to save mankind. And coincidently, our secular calendar describes today as being Father’s day.

The difficulties, challenges and joys of being a father are relatively easy to understand when that role is directed to our own children. However for Catholic men that want to follow in the teachings of Christ there’s a call not to just be a father but to be “fatherly.” A call to be fatherly to all those  you encounter in your day to day lives. No greater witness to this can be seen than that displayed by the men of our very own Knights of Columbus here at this parish and in parishes throughout the world. Men who answer the call of Christ to be fatherly to those most in need.



My own father served as a police officer with the Irish Police force for forty two years. Some of you might know the force by its more official name derived from the Gaelic language, An Garda Siochanna - directly translated into English as “guardians of the peace". Early on in his career, when I was quite young, my dad found himself working the dreaded night shift. One night he was called to the scene of a motor cycle accident where a young man had lost his life.

Upon arrival, my father immediately identified the victim as being the only son of our neighbors that lived down the street from us. The task fell to my father to tell the parents that their only son, indeed their only child was no more. My father arrived outside the neighbor's house around 3:00 am and he sat there in the patrol car and he sat there and he sat there until sunrise when he finally brought himself to be the bearer of that horrible news.  Afterwards, he explained his delayed actions as his offering of one final undisturbed night’s rest before facing into what can only be described as every parents worst nightmare.

I could never truly understand it but for many years after this accident the parents of this young man would talk about how thoughtful and considerate it was of my father to allow them to get an undisturbed nights rest. Perhaps my dad prayed for their son that night as he waited or perhaps he reflected on his own family that slept just up the street. Even though it wasn't his own child that met their demise that night, my father recognized the need to be fatherly to this family at such a difficult time.

Catholic fathers, indeed all christian men and women who are called to follow Christ are called to do so not just within their circle of family and friends but also outside of it. Every man and every woman whether single, married or consecrated is called to give of themselves to God and to his neighbor.

Let us give thanks to God The Father today for the gift of all the fatherly people in our lives.